The Unknown
by Dawn Destiny
Summary: My name is Destiny, and I'm the newest member of the Turks. If there's one thing I know, it's that things are about to get interesting.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Okies! This is my first fanfic ever! I honestly love the Turks, so I LOVE writing about them! I own none of the characters except my originals! The rest belong to Square-Enix, which I will take over after I complete my plan for world domination! Enjoy and review pretty please!**

This was it, my first day working for Shinra. Fear coursed through my veins as I walked to the headquarters. I hadn't been to the world above the plate too often and had no idea what to expect. When I reached the building, the sight wasn't easy on my nerves. It was monstrous in size and seemed to hold a sort of arrogance over the other buildings. I stared for a few moments with my mouth agape until I was bumped rather roughly from behind. I fell onto my knees and heard someone swear behind me. I turned and looked up at a man with fiery red hair, pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"Shit, sorry. I was rushin' a bit. You need help with something?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Oh. Um, I actually am supposed to start work here today. I just wasn't quite sure….." my voice trailed off.

"Alright, come on. I'll show ya around til ya find where you're supposed to go." The man answered quickly.

He pulled me off the ground and walked into the building, with me trailing closely behind. The lobby was bright when we entered. The secretary looked bored, well, until she saw my companion that is. When she noticed him her eyes fluttered flirtatiously.

"Hey Reno, late again?" she purred silkily.

"It's not late for me. I'm right on time babe," he answered deeply, leaning into the desk.

She giggled. "If you say that to Tseng, you might end up dead before lunch break."

I rolled my eyes. So he was one of _those _guys. The kinds who get all the ladies, as my dad would say. A womanizer. That talk annoyed the hell out of me. I cleared my throat loudly.

"I need to know what floor belongs to the Turks," I said.

Reno looked at me in surprise.

"Well damn," he said. "You might as well tag along with me then,"

I looked at him curiously for a moment before realization struck. Reno of the Turks, not exactly an easy profile to forget. In my defense, I had only gotten about two hours of sleep. I followed Reno to the elevator, feeling the death stares of a certain secretary at my back. The trip to floor 52 was a silent, uneventful one. When we reached our destination, the first person to step into view was a rather large man. His head was bald and he wore sunglasses that blocked any expression from view. His black suit was neatly buttoned, as opposed to Reno's partially unbuttoned shirt.

"Hey partner. Great day today right?" Reno said jokingly.

"If you call getting chewed out by Tseng at seven in the morning the start of a good day, than sure," the man answered in a deep voice.

"How pissed is he today Rude?" Reno asked.

"Not as bad as I've seen him get, but I wouldn't keep him waiting any longer."

Reno nodded and continued toward the back office, as I tagged along. So that was Rude, a friend of Reno's judging by the conversation that had just taken place. We entered the office in the back and there stood who I guessed was Tseng. He had anger painted on every inch of his face. The sight of Reno made the fury increase.

"Care to explain why you're late this time Reno?" Tseng asked coldly.

Reno just shrugged. I took the opportunity to help out a bit. I peeked out from behind Reno.

"Um, excuse me sir. My name is Destiny; I was supposed to start here today. I got a little lost on the way and Reno helped me get to the office. It's my fault that he's late. Sorry," I lied.

Technically, he did help me, but not much. I just didn't want to see someone get chewed out the moment I got to work. Tseng raised an eyebrow at me.

"Destiny you said? Ah yes; the new recruit." His tone wasn't quite as icy, though he still looked at Reno distastefully. "How soon do you think you can be ready for your first assignment?"

"Anytime, sir, just tell me when you have an assignment ready."

Reno looked at me strangely, like he was confused.

"Excuse me sir, but why is this young lady here getting assignments so soon?" Reno asked curiously.

Okay, so I'm only about seventeen years old, and I'm not all that tall or anything. Granted, I have been mistaken for a twenty-year old, but that's beside the point. I'm not what you'd think of when you see a new recruit for the Turks.

"This young lady happens to be extremely qualified for this line of work. Don't underestimate her Reno." Tseng answered. I couldn't help the smirk that played on my lips; Reno's reaction was quite interesting.

I shook hands with Tseng and he led me to a small office that would be mine starting today. Reno still followed, looking a bit confused at the fact that I was getting my own office as a newbie starting as a new member of the Turks. Tseng left me to settle things in my office. Reno didn't leave, he just stared at me. The glare of his bright blue-green eyes was unsettling to say the least. Eventually, I looked up at him out of pure annoyance.

"What do you want Reno? You've been standing there for five minutes."

Out of nowhere, he rushed me. As he reached out in an attempt to attack, I effortlessly blocked it. I grabbed his arm, twisting it and pinning him below me. I held him there for a moment before letting go and standing upright. I began to stalk out of the room, but turned back to him. He was rubbing his arm as he pulled himself off the floor.

"What the hell?" Reno said slowly.

"Tseng said not to underestimate me Reno. I highly suggest you remember that suggestion next time you try to attack." I said smugly before exiting my office. This was going to be interesting.

**Author's Note: It was short, but I'm just warmin up! Please review! Pretty please! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: GO PACKERS! (Sorry Steelers fans) Anywho, this is my newest addition to the story. Enjoy!**

**I do not own anything except for Destiny at the moment. The rest belongs to square-enix. **

I left my office feeling quite accomplished. The confusion in Reno's eyes had been comical, for me at least. No one ever expects to get beaten down by a petite seventeen year old girl. As I walked down a hall toward the break room, I bumped into a blonde. She seemed a bit too perky for the average person.

"Hey, are you the newbie Tseng told us about?" she asked happily.

"Yes, my name is Destiny." I answered smoothly.

"I'm Elena! I noticed that you were headed to the break room, so I wanted to introduce myself!"

I nodded politely and continued walking. She followed close behind, chattering about nothing in particular. When I finally reached the break room she stepped back.

"I should go get some work done. It was nice meeting you!" she said before walking away.

I sighed in relief. She had been a bit too loud for me, seeing as it was only about seven-thirty. I walked to the coffee pot, which was placed right near the door conveniently, and grabbed a cup. When the caffeine began to flow, I stalked back to my office. Reno was, thankfully, gone. I sat behind my desk and fell asleep, setting the alarm on my watch for eight-thirty. I drifted easily into a light sleep, but there was no way to stop the dream.

_The moonlight was heavy and bright, lighting up every corner of the room. A deep crimson liquid stained the carpet underneath the body of someone I recognized all too well. His eyes were wide, his mouth open as if he had been about to scream. Or yell for help. _

"_Oh, God," I whispered, gazing at the horrifying sight. _

_Whoever had killed him must have really wanted him dead. There were bruises covering his bare chest and stab wounds made by a knife that was currently sticking into his stomach. Suddenly a sick realization hit me. If he was dead, especially slain so brutally, that could only mean that I was next. A cold hand clamped down on my shoulder and I felt someone kneel down beside me. My breath came out in raspy gasps as I tried to reign in my fear. Whoever was behind me was extremely strong; I couldn't even squirm in his iron grip. He pushed me onto my stomach and whispered softly into my ear._

"_Now then, how shall we begin?"_

_The cold, flat side of a knife ran down my back, causing a shiver to course through my body. _

"_Here," the man whispered as he turned the blade on its point above my lower back._

_The tip pierced through my skin slowly; I gasped out in surprise. A small beeping noise suddenly sounded. Over and over it played, until…._

I awoke with a start, quickly turning off the alarm on my watch. The dream slowly faded, but the fear remained, burning bright in my chest. The door to my office creaked open slowly, revealing Tseng's shadow in my doorway.

"I think it's time for you to formally meet the group you'll be spending most of your time with here at ShinRa," he said.

I nodded and followed him back to the break room. Time to really start my work on the inside.

**Author's Note: Another short chapter, sorry about that. I'm trying to show a bit of Destiny's character before I really get into the big stuff. Please review...Please? You know you want to. All you have to do is click the button. Click it, go ahead.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh my goodness I am soooooo sorry! This update is super late! My computer got a virus from . I couldn't get it fixed for weeks, then I had a bunch of tests so I couldn't finish the chapter and-**

**... Okay, I'm rambling. Please enjoy this next chapter!**

**Note: I do not own FFVII or any of these characters other than Destiny Hart. **

I was surprised by how small the group was. I recognized all of them with the exception of one. A woman, petite, but probably in her early twenties. Her hair was auburn and she stood proudly in her suit of Turk status. Tseng motioned around the room at them all.

"This is your grouping. In any non-solo assignments, you will be working with at least one of them. We have Rude, who is one of the best Turks currently out of all of ShinRa. Elena is an important part of many assignments; her thought process allows almost immediate improvisation in the field," Tseng said as Elena waved at me cheerfully. "You've already met Reno, I'm sure your opinion of him will be formed soon enough. Then, we have Cissnei."

So that was her name. She stared politely at me, as if studying my every move. There was no doubt in my mind that a fight with that woman would be dangerous. Reno, on the other hand, was glaring at me. I rolled my eyes in his direction. His attempted attack had probably left him with some nasty bruises.

"Stop giving me that look Reno; unless you wanna go for round two," I said, smirking.

"Round….two?" Elena said curiously.

"Yeah. Funny story really, I was moving some stuff around in my office after speaking to Tseng and Reno here attempted a sneak attack. I had him pinned in five seconds flat," I giggled slightly. "You should've seen your face Reno, it was hilarious."

Reno continued to glare, not that he had reason not to. Elena began to giggle, Tseng just smirked, Rude let a corner of his lips lift a little, but Cissnei laughed outright.

"That's what you get for not thinking Reno! I always tell you to think before you act, but you never do. Look what you've done this time! You got pinned by a teenage girl!" she exclaimed.

I snickered as Reno blushed slightly. Rude just stared at me curiously, as if he didn't quite believe that I had pinned Reno. I gave him a steely glare. It was a challenge, and he recognized it as such. His size was menacing, but I was often underestimated because of my small appearance. The way he carried himself was the only thing that worried me. He didn't seem cocky and overly-confident like Reno, but there was no meekness or self-doubt in his demeanor.

"We should head to the training room to see how far your skills stretch," Rude said in his strong, deep voice.

The energy in the air turned serious, I could sense the change. It was decided whether I agreed or not. We were going to the training room. I wasn't nervous; I had been taught all I needed to anticipate an attack or defensive move. The trip down the elevator to the lower levels was comfortable, but silent. No one uttered a single word, as they were all deep in thought. Elena seemed to be studying my actual body dimensions, mumbling numbers and facts to herself. I relaxed all the muscles in my body, preparing to improvise if I ran into any unexpected obstacles.

When we finally reached the training floor, I was completely focused. I kept my head high as we all moved toward training room C. There was a small room right outside the actual fighting area for spectators. In the locker room near the training room, I quickly changed into my new standard Turk uniform.

_Better to practice in it now, _I thought to myself.

We began my testing the moment I entered the training field. My first opponent was, as expected, Reno. I had already beaten him once and had no doubt in my mind that I could do it a second time. The only difference was that he now had a white cylinder in his hand. It was an EMR, naturally. It was the standard weapon issued to all Turks. I remained unarmed. I didn't need anything other than my hands. I kept my knees bent, watching his every movement carefully. We circled around each other like two lions about to fight. I waited for him to make the first move, ready to retaliate at any attacks. After about a full minute, he lunged at me gracefully, ready to slam that EMR against my stomach. I dodged at the last possible second, kicking the weapon out of his hand. Landing behind him directly, I kicked his feet out from underneath him. He landed on his back and I immediately pinned his arms and legs to the ground. Lifting a fist, I landed a punch straight at his jawbone. I punched twice more before I had knocked him unconscious. That fight had almost been a waste of my time.

Rude stepped in and hauled Reno off the floor and into the viewing room as my next challenger came to face me. Elena stood directly across from me, studying every movement I made at the same time I was. Her eyes no longer held the preppy warmth from earlier; they were ice-cold and calculating. This woman was smart. She knew better than to attack first, so I already had a disadvantage from having to begin the first round. I hesitated to attack.

"What's wrong Destiny? You afraid to lose to me?" she taunted.

I growled under my breath and lunged at her small form. She dodged with incredible speed, but I carefully surveyed her movements. I lunged at her again, watching as she moved to the right again. There was something off about her timing, something strange. Then I found it, her weak point. She was more dependent on the right side of her body. Whenever I lunged, she dodged to the right. I smirked slightly as I locked on to my target. When I lunged again, I moved slightly to her right, catching her off guard and landing a hit. Before she could recover from the blow, I quickly knocked her off her feet and watched as she slammed to the ground, unconscious from my kick. My first two opponents had been much too easy to beat. Not because of lack of skill, they definitely had tons of it, but because I had been trained specifically for this purpose.

"Maybe you should have been a little more afraid of me Elena," I whispered to her unconscious form.

Once again, Rude stepped in a gently lifted Elena out of the training room. I waited, ready for my next challenge. Rude stepped into the room, not bothering to speak. He stood across from me and whipped out his EMR. So my next opponent was the all-powerful Rude. His stance was secure and concentrated. His eyes were still hidden behind the black sunglasses of his. I could read no emotions or see any calculations he could have been making about me. Once again, I had to move first, already putting me at a disadvantage. I had trouble dodging and blocking his attacks, so it was near impossible to actually land a solid punch. Even when I did, he seemed unaffected. He was large, strong, and quick. Perfect material for a Turk. I blinked briefly, slightly distracted from the fight. It gave him the opportunity to sneak up and whack me over the head with his EMR, not yet bothering with the electric currents it sets off. I staggered a little. He was REALLY strong. I lashed out, landing a right hook at his jaw, causing him to spit out a bit of blood. Neither of us seemed to be able to keep the other down. He hooked an arm around my waist in an attempt to stabilize my movements, but I easily slipped out of his grip and swept my left leg across the ground. He was knocked backwards and landed with a heavy thud. I jumped up quickly and moved to finish off my attack, but he was recovering quickly. Just as I was about to land the last blow, he yanked my arm over my head and pinned me to the ground.

_Guess I don't have a choice,_ I thought angrily.

I slipped a kunai from out of my sleeve and brought it up to his throat. He froze, but didn't leave room for me to move. There was no advantage in the situation. In a real fight, we would both probably end up dead. In short, it was a tie.

"Alright, that's the end of that," I heard Tseng's voice echo through the room.

Rude and I slowly got off the floor. He really was a great opponent, especially compared to Reno and Elena.

"Nice fight kid," Rude said softly.

I nodded and slipped my kunai back into the holster under my sleeve. He left the room calmly, acknowledging the petite woman that stepped in. Cissnei patted his shoulder softly. When she reached me, I saw the determination in her eyes. They were sharp and seemed to see right through me. Not only were her eyes sharp and determined, they also held a bit of a smile. I tensed immediately, sensing the change in the atmosphere of the room. Cissnei was not going to be an easy opponent. She darted forward without warning, catching me off guard. Her movements were quick and almost irrational. There was no way to study her attacks if she kept changing them and flitting about. Honestly, I was getting the crap beat out of me. Her fist connected with my stomach, then my face. Still, I held my ground. As she pulled back to punch again, I reached forwards and grabbed her wrist. I pulled her closer and kneed her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her before jumping out of range. She held her stomach tightly for a moment, surveying my movements as I held my ground. I jumped at her and kicked directly at the left side of her face. Right before my foot reached its destination, she grinned and snatched my ankle, quickly flipping me over and gaining an immediate advantage. Before I could recover from the sudden move, she had me in a chokehold, squeezing all the air from my lungs. I attempted to squirm and wriggle from her grip, but nothing worked. I started to see spots and the world around me slowly grew foggy. Just when I was about to black out, she let go.

I sucked in deep gushes of air gratefully. Cissnei stood up and offered a hand. I took it and she helped me off the ground.

"Not bad rookie," she said, smiling.

I let out a small chuckle. She had kicked my ass.

The others stepped into the training room. Reno had apparently regained consciousness. He glared at me still, rubbing his shoulder.

"Excellent technique Ms. Hart," Tseng said deeply. "Most of our newer recruits can hardly get past Elena at best, much less tie with Rude. No one ever reaches Cissnei."

"Thanks sir," I replied.

"You really did great Destiny! I've never seen someone keep up with me for that long!" Cissnei said cheerily. "Reno did try once. He lasted about half a minute."

I giggled. Poor Reno, it must have been difficult to be beaten by the women on your team. We exited the training room and headed back toward the Turk's floor. We followed Tseng back to his office quietly. After the door had been closed, he spoke up.

"Now that our newest member has proved her fighting ability, we have a mission tomorrow. I'll need all of you to report here at 0500 hours for briefing. No more, no less. Is that clear?" he stated, looking around at everyone. He stopped and glared at Reno. "That's 0400 hours for you Reno."

We nodded silently. Even Reno was silent, though he looked grim at the early hours. Finally, things were moving along.

**A/N: Hehe, I love Reno abuse, but that's just cuz he's my favorite Turk next to Cissnei. Please review! I just loves that constructive criticism! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm finally back! My writer's block has finally lifted from this story! Please excuse my lack of updates. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters or plotlines. I only own this story and Destiny. **

I woke up at 0300 hours, fully recharged after finally receiving a full six hours of sleep. My first mission, my first chance to prove myself, began today. Not for the respect of my teammates, I already had that, but for their trust. Trust was the most important part of my job.

The trip to the ShinRa building was much easier than the day before. I walked right past the secretary's desk to the elevators. I pushed the button for floor 52 and waited for the doors to slide closed, glancing up when a hand held the doors open and someone else stepped inside, tripped, and knocked me over. I jumped up off the ground, quickly regaining my balance before I smirked. Reno looked absolutely worn out. His flaming red hair was messier than the day before and it looked as if he had stumbled into his clothing.

"Late night?" I asked curiously.

"You have no idea."

"Hn."

We reached the floor quickly after the brief exchange and walked to Tseng's office immediately. Tseng and Cissnei were already there and I could safely guess that Rude and Elena would be arriving in moments. When we had all assembled in the office, Tseng finally spoke up.

"This is an interesting mission, but it should be fairly easy. A small anti-ShinRa group is developing in one of the smaller outside towns. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but their numbers have been rising at an extremely high rate. Our goal is simple; eliminate them before they become a real threat. If we do that, it means less work later on."

I nodded, taking in all the information. The job seemed easy enough, but apparently there was more to learn. Tseng continued his explanation.

"We cannot risk a surprise attack in this situation. It is not yet known the exact number of members in the organization, or the amount of weaponry they may be hiding. Instead, we'll need to get some people on the inside."

I sucked in my breath sharply, thankfully unnoticed by the others. This type of mission is perfect for gaining the trust of teammates.

"We don't want to intimidate these people, so our best bet is to send in Cissnei, Elena, and Destiny. I know you are all totally capable of defending yourselves, but as long as you can keep up a strong act to have them thinking you are not a threat, our mission should run smoothly. And," Tseng paused for a moment. "I want one of you to turn yourselves in. It's a big risk, but we need to surprise them. Take a few down and let yourself _get caught._"

I felt my jaw drop. Was he serious? He actually wanted one of us to get caught? And what were the men going to be doing during the infiltration? It was Cissnei that noticed my bewildered expression. She spoke up quickly, as if reading my mind.

"Sir, what are Reno and Rude going to be doing while we're in the field?" she asked.

"Reno will stay with me at the chopper. We will be able to communicate with everyone from there and, if needed, we can escape quickly. Rude with be carefully monitoring the situation from a distance so he can interfere if things turn ugly."

"So….. What is the plan exactly?" I asked slowly.

"The three of you will be dressed as civilians. One of you will be separated from the other two. The pair will find a way to _peacefully_ get inside the headquarters. They aren't very organized by the looks of it, so that portion should be easy. The third will attack some of the members or guards. Fight off a few if it suits you, but let them take you. We need eyes on the inner and outer levels of their headquarters. Find out as much information as you can and take them out. Quick and simple," Tseng answered.

The plan seemed simple enough, but how would we be divided? I held in the question as Tseng dismissed us to ready ourselves for the mission. We were to report to the heli-pad on the top of the building at 0730. I gathered my weapons and changed into the clothing of a regular civilian, a simple blue tank top with a jean jacket and slightly torn jeans pants seemed to work, along with my black high-heeled boots, and I carefully hid the weapons under my clothes. I pulled my hair into a bun on the back of my head and slid two needles in to keep it in place. Glancing at my reflection once more to confirm that everything was in place, I headed up to the heli-pad.

I sat in the back of the helicopter with Elena, Cissnei, and Tseng. We were going over the last bits of information, which could also prove to be the most crucial points.

"Destiny and Elena; you two are going to get into the headquarters posing as regular civilians that want to join the organization. Make sure you don't blow your cover, we need all the outside information as much as we need the inside information. Cissnei; you are going to be the one that gets caught. Just attack and pretend to be helpless when they take you down. When you're inside and we give a signal, you can do whatever you have to so the three of you can get out of there safely."

"So I can let loose, right?" Cissnei said, smirking.

"Try not to overdo it Cissnei," Tseng sighed. "I swear, spending so much time with Zack Fair is having the most interesting effects on you."

Cissnei smiled a little at the comment. Apparently Zack Fair was someone she didn't mind being influenced by. I saw Reno shift uncomfortably in his seat at the conversation.

_And someone seems a little jealous, _I thought to myself.

Elena and I walked the streets slowly, getting closer to our destination. The chopper was a few miles away in a small patch of deserted land. Cissnei had left about ten minutes before us to get a head start. Tseng had given us the location of our targets' base and extra information we would need to get inside. The building was large, at least for a small town it was. It looked like an extremely large inn, or possibly a mansion, and that was just the exterior.

"You ready Destiny?" Elena asked casually.

"Yeah, let's get this started."

We entered the building to take our positions. Elena and I walked up the desk and whispered something to the lady there. She looked in her mid-thirties or so and smiled slightly at whatever Elena told her. Silently, the woman motioned for us to follow her through double doors in the back marked 'Employees Only'. There were several hallways that twisted and turned all around. It would probably leave any normal person confused with no idea how to reach the exit. For people specially trained to remember every piece of information acquired, retracing our footsteps would be no problem. It took about three full minutes of walking to reach an elevator. It seemed perfectly normal. At least, it did until the woman leading us tapped a specific spot (about 13 centimeters from the button panel) on the wall and another panel opened up, revealing a few more buttons with a strange script on each one. She punched in a code quickly and the elevator dropped at an amazing speed. When the doors opened we were faced with an amazingly horrifying sight.

**A/N: Gotcha with a cliffy! Don't worry, the next chapter will be up in a jiffy! Please review! I will give you cyber brownies! They are right next to me, fresh from the cyber oven! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yaaayyy! Finally got chapter 5 up! I typed five whole pages for this one! Still not as much as I was hoping I could do but it'll have to work for now. Anyways, there is some violence in this one, but not enough to make anyone particularly squirmish or anything. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Yadayadayada... Don't worry though, my excellent team of magic carp has been training for months now! **

The elevator doors slowly opened and we were greeted by an extremely unpleasant surprise. A group of about eleven very large men with very large guns surrounded us. I tensed and curled my hands into fists for about half a second before Elena leaned on me and gripped my hand. She looked terrified, but I got the message. Do NOT show strength. We would not fight back unless completely necessary. I understood. The whole reason Tseng sent us in was because we wouldn't look too threatening. Having Reno inside would be painfully obvious and Rude is just plain….. huge.

I slouched my shoulders slightly and held Elena's hand tightly.

"W-what's going on?" Elena asked innocently. She really sounded frightened; of course, she had probably experienced fear on multiple occasions in this job and could replicate it pretty well.

"You know damn well what's going on missy. Come quietly if ya know what's good for ya," the man standing in the middle said in a throaty voice.

They shoved us forwards using their guns and I fell onto my knees weakly, gripping the side pants pocket on the man beside me. He kicked me away roughly and I let out a small yelp.

"Des!" Elena squeaked out as she helped me off the ground. I grimaced at the name, but kept up the charade.

They led us through stony hallways to a nicely decorated office-styled room. A shadowy outline of a man sat behind the desk, moving slightly as we were pushed into the center of the room. He leaned forward and smiled charmingly at us, as if it was supposed to make us feel any better.

"I apologize for my men's rude behavior. I believe any cruelty was completely unnecessary," he said silkily.

"Of c-course s-sir. W-we didn't mean any harm," Elena stuttered.

"Oh really? Strange, it seems we received some information earlier stating that a few agents sent by the Shin-Ra Corporation would be visiting us today. Though, by the looks of it, they didn't send the best people for the job."

A man beside me straightened up sharply and spoke.

"Sir, the prisoner has escaped from the lower levels! There aren't enough people stationed there to contain her!"

The leader stiffened. Apparently the alpha male wasn't used to not having control. Well, I'd just have to change that then. Finally I heard the word I had been aching to hear.

"NOW!" Reno's voice sounded in my ear.

I smirked and glanced at Elena. She nodded and I reached up to my hair, pulling the thin needles from their place. My hair fell in waves down my back as I threw the needles out at four of the males on my side as Elena knocked two down in one solid kick.

Within moments all the men around us were face down on the carpeted floor with the exception of their leader. Cissnei spoke cheerfully through the earpiece.

"Area secure, now moving to the upper levels!"

The once confident man swiftly had a gun in his hand and fired without any real target. He was just searching for a distraction to find an escape. Elena dodged the bullets with ease and I pulled the long daggers from my boots, swatting the bullets away. Cissnei burst through the door and quickly maneuvered to the target. She had him immobilized in seconds and her ferocity almost frightened me.

"Y'know, Shin-Ra was actually thinking about letting you live for the purposes of the company. You may have been a great asset with your scientific knowledge. Unfortunately, you crossed a certain line the moment you attacked my comrades. You made me your _enemy._ Do you know what our particular faction does in this company?" she hissed. The man shook his head yes, fearing whatever his fate would be. "We take care of the dirty work. Everything the uppers want taken care of without getting their hands dirty is immediately sent to us. Our job is to work as a _team_. As soon as you target one of us, you target all of us." She straightened up a little. "Do we need him Tseng?"

"The files you found were all old news, he's of no use to us. Do what you want Cissnei," he said coldly.

She had a murderous gleam in her eyes as she whispered in that man's ear. He was more than frightened, he was scared shitless. Then, she put bullets through both his hands. He howled as his own blood began to stain the floor. His alpha male demeanor was completely lost; he had no authority over this crowd. Finally, Cissnei put a single bullet cleanly through his head…. Well, as cleanly as you can put a bullet through someone's head at such close range with her gun.

"Let's go," Elena said calmly.

Then, we walked right out the door. No questions were asked and no people followed us out, probably for the sake of their own lives. As we approached the chopper Reno spoke out.

"Cissnei, you're bleeding," he said calmly, looking over the injury.

"Just a scrape from a bullet in there, nothing to worry about," she stated very matter-of-factly.

He just shook his head as Rude, Elena, and Tseng peeled off to a second helicopter before we took off. In the air, Cissnei took to teasing the redhead. For some reason, that seemed to be the only time his guard dropped in the slightest. There might've even been a _real_ smile in there. Not one of his classic smirks that make the ladies faint, it was a smile that is rare in a world like this. I was off in a daydream until Cissnei's voice pulled me back down as she began talking to me.

"You did pretty well today rookie. Not many people keep their cool when things go wrong like that. And nice job taking out some of those goons."

"Yeah, it was definitely an interesting experience," I replied simply.

As Cissnei and I talked about tactics and flaws from techniques during the fight, I noticed that Reno stayed uncharacteristically quiet as he steered the copter, almost as if he was listening specifically to our voices. Of course, the conversation switched over to the young man that had been mentioned earlier. Zack Fair sounded like a nice guy, but it appeared that hearing Cissnei talk about him for too long seemed to be making Reno more and more uncomfortable. Eventually I changed the subject for his sake. It was strange though, that Cissnei can be so observant and notices every single detail about a scene in front of her unless it has to do with the person literally sitting _right in front of her_.

Cissnei went straight to the infirmary after we reached the Shin-Ra building and the rest of us found different things to do. Tseng sat at his desk and began filling out files, Elena went down to the training rooms with Rude, and Reno just sat in the break room staring off into space. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something different about Reno. It wasn't just his personality, he seemed more…..complicated. I hardly knew any of them and I could already tell.

There was something about him just sitting there that felt wrong somehow, so I went and sat directly in front of him, snapping him out of his neutral state.

"Whatcha doing over here?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Eh, nothing much to do in this place so I figured I might as well talk to you," I replied shrugging.

He actually chuckled slightly at that. There it was again, the slightly more mature smile. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared though.

"So what's the deal with you and Cissnei? Looks like you've got the whole one-sided thing going on," I said casually.

He looked at me, surprised. "…. Nothing. We're teammates and close friends, nothing more. That's how things have always been between us," he answered coolly.

"Oh don't try to feed me that junk Reno. I was trained to _read people_. That includes relationships and emotions. So while I know there isn't actually a romantic relationship between you two doesn't mean I don't see the difference in your behavior around her. Unfortunately, she seems infatuated with this 'Zack Fair' guy…. What makes him so great anyways?"

"Zack Fair is in the SOLDIER program, first class actually. He's…. an interesting guy and I don't really hold anything against him. Hell, we get along pretty well when we have to. I just don't need to hear about another guy so much during the day y'know?" he replied tiredly, waving a hand dismissively. He stood slowly, stretching before he spoke. "I should probably get some actual work done or Tseng'll be on my ass about it for a week…. And thanks…. For the open ears I guess. Don't get too many of those around here."

I smiled, "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm Destiny the shrink here to listen to all things."

He smirked and left the break room, leaving me to my thoughts. I stretched out on the sofa and relaxed for the first time since the morning. Without even realizing it, I drifted off into a light sleep. Unfortunately for me, my dreams aren't the safest place to be.

_I saw flickers of faces of tortured children, malnourished and beaten. People I knew from somewhere that I couldn't quite recall. The air smelled of spilled blood of innocents. A stinging pain seared through my flesh as a whip struck the skin on my back repeatedly. Nobody helped anyone else if they wanted to be left uninjured. I would not cry out as that showed weakness and would only lead to more pain. The saddest part of it….. It was completely normal. I felt at home._

"_Destiny? Deeestiny?" a voice called out._

I opened my eyes slowly to see a slightly worried Cisnnei staring at me. She watched me carefully as I sat up.

"What?" I asked tiredly.

"Just wanted to wake you up. You were squirming and making pained faces. Besides, it's getting late. You should probably get home."

"Y-yeah, home," I said quietly as I tried to stand. My knees shook and I almost collapsed. Cissnei caught me just before I hit the ground. My surroundings blurred a bit and I felt myself beginning to slip back into unconsciousness, fighting it as Cissnei shouted out to Tseng.

I caught a glimpse of black hair and felt a needle pierce my skin, injecting me with something. My eyelids snapped open. Adrenaline. Strangely, my coordination and movements were still off. I couldn't hold myself up.

"What's wrong with her?" Cissnei spoke quickly as she sat me back down on the couch.

"Nothing to be worried about. Her former boss included it in her file. Sometimes she suffers sudden loss of muscle control. They said to keep her from blacking out for an unknown amount of time we would have to inject her with a small measurement of adrenaline. They don't know the exact cause of the problem but believe it may be linked to past trauma."

"Well, I'm taking her to my house for the night then. You never know when stuff like this happens and it's better if someone else is with you when it does."

"…. I agree. Cissnei, just make sure you're both here by 0800 hours."

"Yes sir. We will be," Cissnei answered slowly as she pulled me from the couch again and looped an arm under my shoulder. I could barely keep myself awake in her car, and instantly crashed the moment I got to her couch.

**A/N: Okies, so I kinda suck at fight scenes. It was really short and I whacked myself in the face for it. Please review and tell me what I can fix! I love anyone that can give constructive criticism! Plus there's a batch of fresh cyber cookies! Anyways, I've always thought Reno and Cissnei were a great match but realised that her crush on Zack gets in the way soooo I'm using it to my advantage! I love you all!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Holy crap it's been a long time. Please, for the love of Jenova, don't kill me! School has been killing me for months. Anyways, there's a nice secret revealed in this chapter. **

**I want to seriously thank koolkatx for their review. Without it, I may have given up on account of writers block. Many thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not currently own FFVII, and since my last fish army died of food poisoning, I've restarted with an army of caterpies and diglets that will infiltrate SE for me. :3 Enjoy!**

When I awoke the next morning I had a headache of colossal proportions. Imagine waking up with a killer hangover and getting hit on the head with a baseball bat. It felt like that times five. Still, work was mandatory for me; I needed to exceed my already high expectations. I stood, pretending I felt absolutely normal when Cissnei walked in, already dressed.

"Hurry and get ready!" she said cheerily.

I nodded, walking to the bathroom when she pointed it out, saying that my uniform was already there. I splashed ice-cold water on my face, trying to flush away the dreams, or rather, the nightmares. Looking in the mirror, I saw a different face than the one I was used to. There was a hint of fear in my features. Of what, I had no idea, but it was there.

"Alright, let's go," I said calmly, my headache finally beginning to fade.

When we reached the Shin-Ra building, we walked (well, I walked; Cissnei was skipping) to the elevators, quickly reaching our floor. Stepping out, I immediately realized something was wrong, and both notifications came from Reno. For one, he was _early_. And he wasn't just early; he was up _early and working_. The dead giveaway that he wasn't in a great mood was the fake smile plastered across his face.

"Hey Reno!" Cissnei exclaimed cheerfully.

"Hey," he said calmly, waving slowly.

She skipped off to Tseng's office, humming something I'd heard on the radio recently. I turned to Reno expectantly.

"Okay, what's up?" I asked.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Everything is smiles and sunshine."

"Okay Mr. Smartass, what's the problem?"

Reno sighed and pointed toward my office. I nodded, walking in that direction, knowing he was following. The moment we were inside, I spun around to face him. "So what's the problem?"

"Mr. Perfect is back in town, that's all."

"You mean Zack Fair," I stated.

He just nodded, leaning against a wall. This jokester was a real piece of work. At least I knew why Cissnei was so excited. I shrugged. Reno sighed again, obviously frustrated. Who knew the womanizer would be so upset about something like that.

"I don't know what to tell you Reno. This is a pretty complicated situation."

"No kidding," he grumbled, moving towards my door. He stumbled over a book I had left on the floor and I moved forward, hitting the edge of my desk. Before I could react, I was stuck under him on the floor. He was blushing furiously and I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my lips.

"You're such a klutz," I whispered teasingly.

I heard someone clear their throat in the doorway and quickly pushed the redhead away. Standing there was none other than Cissnei herself. How ironic. She seemed a little less happy than before. In fact, she was glaring daggers at us. "Tseng wants to speak with us," she reported icily. I rolled my eyes, glancing at Reno, and left the room.

'_I guess jealousy works without you knowing it'_, I thought, smirking.

I stood in Tseng's office, a now grumpy Cissnei and an embarrassed Reno following me. Tseng looked at us with a raised eyebrow. He shook his head; apparently the story wasn't worth asking about. Rude and Elena hadn't been called down with us, and I waited for an explanation.

"I have a mission for the three of you. This is highly classified and should be treated as such. That means it can only be kept between us. Each of you will receive an individual file, telling you what to do. Do not share it with anyone, even one another, until I give the order," Tseng commanded firmly.

"Yes sir," the three of us echoed obediently, collecting our folders and beginning to leave the office.

"Cissnei, I actually need to speak with you," Tseng said sharply. She turned to him and nodded, staying behind as Reno and I left.

The moment I entered my office and shut the door, I rushed to my chair. My eyes widened as I flipped through the folder. I opened a document on my computer, hurriedly typing every important point I found. Encrypting the file, I emailed it to my home email address. Erasing the document from the office computer, I shut the mission folder firmly. I was clearing the history when a certain redhead walked into my office once again.

"What do you want Reno?"

"Eh, just wondering what your mission folder says," he said, pointing at the now closed folder on my desk.

"I don't believe that's any of your business," I stated calmly, standing and heading for the door. Before I could react, I was slammed against the wall of my office, his face inches from mine.

"I'm not threatened by you Reno."

"Fine by me babe," he said teasingly.

"**Don't** call me **babe**," I hissed, twisting away for a mere second before he caught my wrist, throwing off my balance and pinning me on the ground. I attempted to escape his hold, but there were no openings. No matter where I moved, he was blocking my way out. "You were holding back," I growled dangerously, thinking back to our other encounters.

He chuckled. "Only a little; I'm much better if I can get my arms around my opponent before they can reach me. Since you kept your distance between us, you beat me pretty easy," he explained, his breath hot on my cheek. He was grinning like a little boy that had suddenly received free candy for a year. He thought he had me beat. "Now then, about your mission folder-"

I pushed against him sharply, surprising him. The opening allowed me to escape his grip and plant a single hard kick to his face, effectively rendering him unconscious. Brushing myself off, I picked up my folder from my desktop and placed it inside a hollowed book on my bookshelf. As I stepped out of my office, I was approached by Cissnei, who appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Tseng has a mission for us. I'll brief you on the way," she said cheerily, all traces of earlier bitterness gone.

I nodded, and we left the building. No weapons needed besides the standard EMR according to her. We made our way toward the slums beneath the plates, and I couldn't help but notice the slightly fearful stares we received. No one wants to mess with a Turk. Cissnei began to fill me in on the details of the trip.

"It's more like a guard mission than anything else. There's a girl that we have to check on regularly. She grows flowers down here."

"Why do we need to watch a flower girl from the slums?"

Cissnei shrugged. "She's special; the last of an almost extinct race called Cetra. Some call them Ancients. I can only imagine what she's wanted for, but Tseng like to keep an eye on her, so we do."

We reached the church, climbing to the top where a steady platform helped hold together the not-so-steady roof. Peering down, I saw two girls. One had raven-black hair and light tan skin, the other was pale with chestnut brown hair.

"But if you're never seen it, how is it scary?" the raven haired girl asked.

"I don't know Dawn; the thought just makes me nervous I guess."

The brown-haired girl was tending to her flowers as the other girl, Dawn, sat on a wooden bench, leading the conversation. Silence fell as the sound of boots hitting the floor echoed through the building. The brown-haired girl's eyes lit up as she looked at the visitor.

"Zack!" she exclaimed happily, running to hug the young man. He was grinning widely as he embraced her. He whispered something, and she giggled slightly.

"So who's that?" Zack asked, referring to the black-haired girl standing behind the Ancient.

"Oh! Dawn, this is the guy I told you about~"

"Ah, I remember. The SOLDIER that fell from the sky; Aerith has told me a lot about you," Dawn said, smiling gently.

Aerith blushed as Zack chuckled. "That's me! Zack Fair, SOLDIER, first class," he stated proudly.

I glanced at Cissnei curiously. She was watching much more intently than before. Her lips were pursed. Was this the guy Reno and Tseng had mentioned? Zack Fair… He was quite attractive; I had to admit that much. It seemed as though him and that girl, Aerith, were a couple. Cissnei could tell too; her expression made that evident. I shook my head, letting out a low laugh as I leaned back.

"What's funny?" Cissnei asked, confused.

"You are!" I replied with a giggle. She crossed her arms, glaring at me.

"How so?"

"Well, you're jealous if a girl is with Zack, but then you get jealous if a girl is with Reno."

"Wait you and Reno are-"

"Nope! Although I do find him quite attractive… maybe I'll pursue him," I said thoughtfully. "Obviously since you two are just friends, it doesn't matter who he goes out with, right? I mean, you don't want him getting the wrong idea."

She wrinkled her nose at me, staring through narrowed eyes. It took a few seconds before the full comment hit her, and she turned away.

"You're right. It's not like I'm his babysitter. We're just good friends, and he can go out with whoever he wants," she said unconvincingly.

We finished our watch in silence, heading back to the Shinra building. The moment we stepped inside, Cissnei walked away, muttering something about telling Tseng how the mission went. I shrugged, walking towards my office to record the day's events. On my way, fiery red hair popped into view. Reno draped an arm casually over my shoulder. I grinned, giggling slightly.

"Trying to make up for attacking me Reno?"

"If you wanna look at it that way," he answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I thought that maybe you'd like to head down and catch a bite to eat with me after we finish up here. Y'know, as thanks for cheering me up before."

"I'd like that," I replied, ruffling his hair as I walked away. I passed Cissnei, and resisted the urge to shiver at the icy vibes she was unknowingly giving off. When I sat back down at my desk and logged into my computer, I realized that a jealous Cissnei was the least of my worries. The signal of a message flashed in the corner of the screen. An email from an unidentified computer had been sent to me. It didn't seem urgent to anyone that looked, but I studied it closely.

**Destiny,**

**I hope you first work days haven't been too bad! I hear things are difficult in that line of work, but I know how much you love your jobs! Just checking in to see how you're doing. Please answer soon!**

**Love, **

**Sis**

Carefully, making sure no one was near my office, I pulled out a small device from my pocket, plugging it into the computer.

**Destiny,**

**I have taken your suspicions into consideration. You have done well, and will be rewarded for your work. As for the suspicions of a spy within the company, we have set up a plan to keep you from being discovered. Do not worry; just keep your information flow documented. We will take care of the rest.**

I sighed, leaning back as I sent a quick reply, telling my 'sister' that I was fine and work was normal. I detached the device from the computer and put it back in my pocket, watching the message change back to its original format. The mission folder hadn't been too specific, which is what had made me worry more than usual. It simply told me to 'Be on the lookout for any suspicious activity in the office environment,' and supplied me with a couple of members with slightly strange activity following them.

My only comfort lied in my absolute certainty that my group would protect the mission by any means necessary. I would not be caught, and I would be safe. No one would know until it was too late. By the time they figured out what was happening, a new authority would arise, blowing the ShinRa Corporation out of the water. As I filled out my paperwork, I hummed quietly. None of them even suspected that I was the spy so carefully hidden within the company. Despite only joining a short time ago, I had been watching long before then. I had been trained for this since I was a child.

_Still_, I thought reluctantly, _they are….. different than I expected. I must not get attached to them. I have my mission, and I will stay true to that._

I shook my head, not realizing how long I had been thinking. My paperwork had been done for a while, and it was time to leave. Reno's shadowy figure approached my door, actually bothering to knock for once.

"I'll be right out!" I yelled, putting away all my folders and such before opening the door.

"Alright! Let's head out then; I know this great place down below," Reno said, smiling brightly. I smiled back.

"Sounds great!"

He grabbed me by the hand and practically pulled me away, babbling about the food and how delicious it was. He was so oblivious, I almost felt bad for a moment. Even so, I could feel eyes watching me as I left for whatever restaurant Reno had in mind. The rules were meant to be followed, I had the scars to prove it.

**A/N: Plot twist no jutsu! Okay, just putting this out there; Reno and Destiny are not meant to be a pairing. If anything, I'm a pure Cissnei/Reno supporter. I'm just inching things along slowly. Anyways, please review. Reviews are like sugary rainbow cookies made of love. I'll give you the best cyber-cookie ever if you review!**


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